Social group promises 'nationwide road blocks'

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Cooperative workers who receive government support staged a 10 hour sit-in today in front of the Labour Ministry, and pledged to cut off major roads across Argentina tomorrow if their demands for collective bargaining negotiations are not met.

"We have run out of means to protest and today the minister Carlos Tomada did not meet us. In this situation, tomorrow we will carry out a national day of struggle with road blocks across the country," the head of social campaigners Barrios de Pie, Daniel Menéndez, fired from the doors of the government building.

The figurehead of the movement, which is allied with cooperative workers, further explained that the day of protest would begin at 10 a.m, with "blocks on the bridges that link Neuquén with Rio Negro, Chaco with Corrientes, Santiago del Estero with La Banda, the entries to Tucumán, as well as the cities of Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires.

This morning, a group of the protesting workers entered the ministerial building while others camped on the Avenue Leandro Além, where a heavy police presence was noted.

"There are more than 300,000 cooperative employees working for the state and they take home a salary of no more than 2000 pesos, which does not get you anywhere. That is why a collective bargaining mechanism needs to be introduced," the national coordinator explained.